Here's what happens because speed-camera tickets don't count on a driver's record.
An impatient driver — and recidivist speeder — swerved around a school bus as it was unloading children at a Queens middle school on Tuesday, lost control at high speed, and then slammed into another bus, ripping apart his own car in the process.
No children were injured in the crash, and the driver was not immediately charged.
The lack of charges infuriated the local Council member, who issued a statement highlighting the driver's long record of traffic and camera-issued infractions and calling for stricter enforcement of road crimes that could keep scofflaws like this off the road.
"With a history like this, including violations in school zones, it's clear he should not be behind the wheel," Council Member Bob Holden said in a statement, referring to the eight camera-issued tickets issued to this car since the very end of 2023.
There are a number of state bills, introduced by State Senator Andrew Gounardes (D- Brooklyn), that would address some of Holden's concerns. S6425 would raise fines for subsequent camera violations, S7621 would put speed governors on cars with over six camera violations, and S12 would revoke the licenses of repeat offenders. Holden told Streetsblog he supports all three.
According to witnesses, the driver of a White Jeep Grand Cherokee, whose name was not released by police, was passing by IS 5 in Elmhurst at around 8 a.m. when he became frustrated by the school bus unloading young students. He passed the bus by swerving into oncoming traffic on 51st Avenue only to lose control and crash into another school bus whose driver suffered minor injuries, Holden's office said.
A police spokesperson said the driver claimed he fell asleep at the wheel, which might explain the crash, but not his prior record: Since November 2023, the driver has accrued $3,253 in fines on 38 total violations including running a red light, speeding in school zones, driving in a bus lane and obscuring his license plate. More than $2,000 in fines have not been paid, which means the car could be seized by the sheriff's department.
The eight camera-issued tickets would carry more than enough points to have the driver's license revoked — except that camera-issued tickets do not count on a driver's record. And the city law that sought to hold drivers accountable by forcing the worse scofflaws to take a safety course expired last year and was not renewed.
Roadways around city schools are not safe enough for the most vulnerable road users. A Streetsblog investigation in 2022 revealed that there are 57 percent more crashes — and 25 percent more injuries — per mile on streets near schools than on the city's other streets. This disparity largely disappears on days when schools are closed.
Several children have been killed by drivers this year. A 3-year-old boy was killed by a driver in Harlem in July, a teenager was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Queens in June. And in April, 10-year-old Yitty Wertzberger was killed by a reckless driver in Williamsburg in very similar circumstances to Tuesday's Queens crash.
In that case, the girl was on her way back from school when an impatient SUV driver got frustrated, crossed the yellow line on Wallabout Street, raced westbound in the wrong lane, turned left onto Franklin Avenue and fatally struck the child.
